A Child Practice Review into the death of Logan Mwangi will be carried out by a Child Safeguarding Board in Wales after three people were convicted of murder following the death of the five year-old child.
Logan Mwangi’s body was found by police officers in the River Ogmore in Bridgend at around 6am on Saturday 31st July, shortly after the police were called by Logan’s mother, Angharad Williamson.
But following a 10 week trial at Cardiff Crown Court, Ms Williamson, his step-father John Cole and a 14 year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were charged with Logan’s murder. The court heard how the defendants had colluded to cover-up Logan’s murder in the hours that followed his death.
During the 999 call, Angharad Williamson initially claimed her son was missing from home. Logan’s body was located by police shortly after their attendance, laying in the River Ogmore, in close proximity to the family home.
Police officers soon became suspicious, and as the investigation progressed CCTV recovered from a nearby house captured John Cole and the youth defendant taking Logan’s body from the house in the early hours of the morning.
When questioned in police interview, Logan’s mother Angharad claimed to have slept through the night, denying that was responsible for switching lights on and off and moving curtains inside the flat which was captured on CCTV.
A Home Office Post Mortem carried out on Logan found that he had suffered more than 56 injuries. A pathologist described some of them as so extreme, you would expect to find them as a result of a fall from great height or a high speed road traffic collision.
Cole, Williamson and the 14-year-old were all convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Lianne Rees, of the South Wales Police Major Crime Investigations Team, said: “Logan was a beautiful, bright and innocent five-year-old little boy with his whole life ahead of him.”
“It is difficult to imagine how Logan must have suffered at the hands of those who he trusted, and inconceivable that those who should have loved and protected him betrayed him in the worst possible way.”
“Attempts to cover up the crime in the hours following Logan’s death and the subsequent web of lies and deceit that were to follow, are an indication of their callousness and lack of remorse.”
“The impact of Logan’s tragic death on so many people cannot be measured,” she added.
Sentencing will take place at a later date.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board will continue with the Child Practice Review, which will be carried out in accordance with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 “Working Together to Safeguard People” Volume 2.
The Child Practice Review aims to examine agencies’ involvement with Logan and his family to identify what lessons can be learnt for the future.
A Panel will consist of senior managers from all agencies that were involved with the child and the family. The Board will appoint an independent Chair from outside of the CTM region who will be supported by two independent reviewers. Agencies sitting on the Panel will gather information on their involvement with the child and family, in order to develop a timeline of significant events that took place prior to the tragic incident.
The independent reviewers of the case will collate and analyse all the information gathered to complete a report, highlighting the learning from the case, any areas of good practice and recommendations to improve future safeguarding practice. The report will then be presented to the Regional Safeguarding Board for scrutiny and approval, before being submitted to the Welsh Government for final endorsement.
The review will take around six months to produce although timescales will depend on many factors including the complexity of the individual case, the extent of the investigations and engagement with partners that are required and the necessity of the panel to fully consider in detail all of the evidence in respect of the circumstances leading up to the tragic incident.
The Safeguarding Board anticipates that the earliest this will be possible will be in the autumn of 2022.
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